The Curses That Bind Us
by The Muses
Summary: Yay - chapter three is up! ... Hermione gets a nasty shock to her ordinary world, pushing her towards someone with the same problem. Tell me if you like so far, and I will continue. Will become HR in future chappies.
1. Chapter 1

The Curses That Bind Us  
  
~*~ By: Mae Noelle ~*~  
  
Disclaimer -- This is all mine. Actually, it's not.  
  
Stuff to know -- Rated because of swearing, possible sexual situations. and some other crap like that. To be a Remus/Hermione fic, so you are warned - if that bugs you, get out. Duh. ^___^  
  
A/N -- The plot was created in five minutes by my awesome muse, Ducky, who resides under the same Pen name as I. She is awesome, and a-a-all mine. I don't think I have seen anything out there quite like this, but I checked all throughout the whole three pages of Remus/Herm fics and couldn't find anything. But, if it is a copy, then, sorry - but I didn't do it on purpose. Actually - I think the idea introduced in the beginning is seen somewhere else, but the road leads somewhere completely different. I assure you.  
  
~*~ Chapter 1 -- ~*~  
  
Hermione walked quickly down the cold, dark corridor, making her way towards the empty transfiguration room that Professor Minerva McGonagall should be in by now, waiting for her.  
  
But, she wasn't Professor to Hermione anymore. Hermione had graduated from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry seven years ago.  
  
She came to a stop in front of a large, oak door, and hurriedly patted down her dark brown robe. After trying once more to run a hand through her thick, bushy brown hair to tame it, she gave up and turned the doorknob, and poked her head inside the room.  
  
"Minerva?" Hermione looked around the disserted room, hoping that her former professor hadn't left in frustration while Hermione had been late.  
  
Looking down at her watch (one of the few muggle things she still used) and figured she was only eleven minutes late.  
  
"Damn," She whispered, walking into the room. She walked in front of the first row of tables and seats, putting her hand on front side one, directly in front of the teacher. A smile crept up on Hermione's face. It was her most favorite seat.  
  
After a few minutes of waiting, Hermione turned and walked down the aisle, and sat in the front desk.  
  
She pulled a small bag she had brought with her onto the desk, and pulled out a thick book. Titled 'The secrets of the Animagi'. Along with the book, she pulled out a little pad of parchment, and a quill - and waited.  
  
The door on her right creaked, finally, and in stepped A very old McGonagall.  
  
She gave her former student a weary smile. "This school is finally starting to weigh in on me, I think,"  
  
Hermione warmly smiled back, and stood up and walked around the desk to greet her. "You can't even tell," She lied, eyeing the gray bun on top of McGonagalls head.  
  
"I am terribly sorry to have kept you waiting so long - but there was business I had to deal with concerning the Minister of Magic. Being head master is a lot harder then I had assumed - Dumbledore made it look so easy," For a second a sad look flashed over her eyes. "But, I am doing the best I can."  
  
"That is completely all right," Hermione sighed. "I was late, myself." She turned back to her seat and sat down heavily.  
  
"Oh dear, the world must be coming to an end!" McGonagall chuckled.  
  
"I hope not," Hermione looked out the window, into the dark and forbidden forest. It looked darker then usual, Hermione noticed. She could feel it calling to her, almost.  
  
"Well. So, you came back here to become an animagus, did you?" McGonagall looked at Hermione, the teacher-to-student expression glowing in her eyes. "Well, it most certainly won't be easy work - but I am sure you of all people will be able to deal fine with it."  
  
McGonagall tuned her back to Hermione, and walked slowly to her large teachers' desk. "And it most certainly won't happen over night. Even if you prepare everything right, practice every spell correctly, it could take up to a year. And for most people it is longer, especially if you can't focus on what is needed to become an animagus. And the older and more wiser you are, the easier it will be."  
  
Hermione nodded avidly, taking in each word of information, no matter how familiar it was to her already.  
  
"You will probably be needing to come in here once a week, if not more, to get anything done. Now I know that is a bit demanding, especially with work and anything else you may need to do, but otherwise the process will never be done and completed."  
  
Hermione nodded again, and looked back out the window. She was working as a reasercher in new technologies for the Ministry of Magic, and to apparate at the edge of Hogwarts grounds and run in here every day or so, for a few hours, would probably be hard to fit in with her work and such. She sighed.  
  
"And you don't know what animal you would be, would you?" Hermione asked, looking up at McGonagall.  
  
McGonagall stared straight ahead for a moment, her eyes slightly unfocused.  
  
"Well," She began, sounding unsure. "I think that some people do know, and others think they do. But, it is really your inner self that decides. Everyone is a certain animal already, inside, but not everyone will ever become it." McGonagall looked at Hermione thoughtfully. "I knew that I would be a cat. It was just something that, well, I had a feeling about - not to be confused with 'seeing'," McGonagall scowled. Hermione put her hand over her mouth, to prevent herself from laughing. So, she still didn't like that old dingbat either.  
  
"I am not sure what I would be," Hermione suddenly said, looking back at the window. "I want to be a cat, also - but I can see myself flying around as some kind of bird, too. or a lion, or a caterpillar, or a horse, or a rabbit -"  
  
"I am sure that whatever you turn into will reflect you quite well," McGonagall said, looking at Hermione with her hard stare. "And don't worry - no one usually knows what they will be. Though, Anyone that is meant to be an animagus usually has some idea-"  
  
McGonagall was interrupted by a heavy knock at the door. She sighed and walked to the door, swinging it open, and letting in the person behind it.  
  
"Good - I was hoping you would be in here." Severus Snape stopped in his tracks, his now-narrowing eyes on Hermione. "Why is she here?" He looked her up and down, a nasty look on his face. Hermione narrowed her eyes and mouthed something inappropriate.  
  
"Nothing you need to know, Severus, now what did you want?" McGonagall spoke quickly and eyed the bottle in Snapes' hand.  
  
Snape hesitantly took his eyes off Hermione, and held out his hand with the vile in it. "I finished Lupin's potion, enough for two doses, but I don't know where to send it to - it seems that he moved off again. And I was thinking that you might have this information,"  
  
McGonagall grabbed the potion from him and set it on her desk. "Thank you Severus - this does mean a lot. I am sure you are sick of hearing this, but, you can't understand how much he probably appreciates this,"  
  
"I'm sure," Snape said sarcastically, sneering. "The potion is basically ready - he just needs to add this to it and stir for five minutes," Snape took a bag of some kind of powder out of his pocket, and dropped it on the desk by the bottle. "I am sure even he will manage."  
  
With that, he turned and glided across the room and out the door, shutting it a little harder then usual.  
  
A rush of air flew through the air after Snape shut the door, and McGonagall sighed loudly.  
  
"He is so - so - uhhg," McGonagall walked behind her desk and pulled out her chair, plopping down into it. "If it weren't for Dumbledore asking him to continue making the potion for Remus, I am sure that he would never do it and wouldn't care if the poor man went about trying to fix it up himself. Never was too good with potions, Remus,"  
  
Hermione looked at the bottle, slightly bubbling, on McGonagalls desk.  
  
"Well - it is quite nice of Snape to do this, even if he is doing it out of the guilt of Dumbledores death,"  
  
McGonagall nodded. "I think I am going to go up to the owlery to send this to Remus - only three days till the full moon. I don't want him to be caught without it," She shivered slightly. "I don't even want to imagine the problems and messes that would be created,"  
  
"Poor Remus," Hermione stood and walked out in front of the table. "Do you mind if I join you down to the owlery? I want to have a look at my old school,"  
  
"No, dear, of course you can come." McGonagall made her way out the door, pausing for a second as Hermione caught up, and then shut the door behind her.  
  
~*~  
  
Hermione walked out of McGonagalls office, saying her thank you and good bye.  
  
She hurriedly walked down the corridors, halls, and stairs of Hogwarts, making her way to the entrance.  
  
Walking across the open grass yard around Hogwarts, towards the Forest, Hermione's eyes caught on the bright, large, round moon glowing above her.  
  
Stopping slightly to take in the beauty of the moonlit landscape, she caught sight of Hagrids little hut. Hermione wondered if she should stop and pay a visit to him, and chat a little about the old life.  
  
Deciding to just hurry home, because she had already stayed late enough, Hermione hurried forward to the forest, to the end of Hogwarts' grounds, to apparate home.  
  
Twigs and leaves crackled under her step, as she made her way through the beginning of the forest.  
  
'It is so peaceful in here,' she thought slowly, looking around at all the dark and foreboding trees. 'Though a bit creepy,'  
  
She found the tree with the yellow sparks flying by it, and walked as quickly as she could towards it, preparing to apparate home.  
  
Just as she was getting the picture of her nice, warm, comfortable room into her head, she heard a muffled scream at her side. The picture vanished from her mind.  
  
Slightly irritated, and slightly scared, she turned to where the sound had come from.  
  
"Hello?" She called into the distance. "Is anyone there?"  
  
A bush a few meters ahead of her twitched, and Hermione could have sworn that she heard a growl.  
  
Forgetting about trying to help anyone, or anything, she tried to get the picture of her room into her mind again.  
  
The bush twitched again. Hermione stepped back, and continued to do so, until she had unknowingly slammed her back into a tree.  
  
After the bush moved again, it parted in the middle, and yellow light was reflected off two large orbs hidden deep inside it. Hermione strained her eyes as she shut them. Only a second longer, only a second until she was out of this place -  
  
A howl erupted in the night. Thinking only of home, Hermione kept her eyes closed, and felt herself go flying into nothingness.  
  
But not before a set of jaws tore into her arm, leaving behind a deep gash in the shape of a wolf bite.  
  
~*~  
  
Ok, this is my newest story, and I don't even know if I want to continue it or not - so if you really like it (or think you will like it, once it gets to the good stuff, ^____^) please review and tell me! And, if you have any ideas or suggestions that you would like to see in the story, or think would make it more interesting, tell me about them!  
  
Shameless promoting -- go and read I've Never, the most hilarious game in the universe! Now with all the stuff that everyone wants to read. See my authored stories! 


	2. Chapter 2

The Curses That Bind Us  
  
~*~ By: Mae Noelle ~*~  
  
Disclaimer -- This is all mine. Actually, it's not.  
  
Gaahh!! Sorry about the last chappie --- I didn't realize I posted it in word format. It looked all jumbled up when I saw it, but maybe that was just me. I can't post things in word format, or everything is smushed together, no paragraphs, no anything. If it looks fine and you have no idea what I am talking about, then just ignore me. J  
  
A/N -- The plot was created in five minutes by my awesome muse, Ducky, who resides under the same Pen name as I. She is awesome, and a-a-all mine. I don't think I have seen anything out there quite like this, and I checked all throughout the whole three pages of Remus/Herm fics and couldn't find anything. But, if it is a copy, then, sorry - but I didn't do it on purpose.  
  
~*~ Chapter 2 ~*~  
  
Hermione watched quietly as the orange sun set behind the dark trees of the forbidden forest.  
  
She leaned over her book, titled 'Ways of the animagus', and her hair fell into her face. She pushed it back behind her ear, and moved her hand through her hair. She tightened her hold on a handful of hairs that had fallen out.  
  
"Stress." She mumbled, eyeing the hairs lying on her open palm for a moment. "Just stress." She over turned her hand and watched the hairs float to the ground.  
  
Turning back to her book, she moved her eyes across the page, trying to grasp the meaning of the small print.  
  
With a loud slam, Hermione closed the book, finally giving in to the fact that she wouldn't be able to comprehend anything she read today.  
  
Hermione turned again to the window, watching the fading colors on the horizon. She glanced at the watch on her left wrist.  
  
"Thirteen more minutes." She breathed, feeling her gaze become unfocused as she slipped into thought.  
  
"Thirteen more minutes until what?"  
  
Hermione almost jumped and fell out of her seat at the curt voice of the old woman standing behind her.  
  
"I need to be home by then," Hermione said, turning around to McGonagall, who had slipped quietly in through the door. Hermione brought a smile to her face, trying to bring it to her eyes, though she felt like doing anything but smiling.  
  
"Shall I get you your broom for you?" McGonagall said quietly, eyeing Hermione with an expression of pity.  
  
Hermione had mysteriously taken to flying a broom to and from Hogwarts since her visit nearly a month ago.  
  
She nodded, and pretended to go back to her book as McGonagall walked out of the room.  
  
In barely a minute she came back, broom in hand, and ushered the girl out of the room.  
  
"Well, have a nice weekend, I hope I shall see you in better health once you come back," McGonagall eyed Hermione's face for a moment, and said quietly, "You know, it wouldn't go amiss to leave the books alone and take a day to yourself,"  
  
With that she smiled and walked down the hall, leaving Hermione in the middle of the corridor. Hermione looked down at her watch.  
  
"No!" She hissed, looking at the time and willing her eyes to have made a mistake in reading it.  
  
She began running down the halls, as fast as she could, until she reached the front doors. She threw them open and, with a last look at the black starry sky, threw her leg over the broom.  
  
In a moment she was airborne, the wind lashing her hair about, whipping stray hairs about her face. She gripped her broom tight and leaned forward, speeding over the dark Hogwarts lawn.  
  
A smile crept onto her face at the thought of Harry seeing her fly... she had never been very good, especially at such heights and speeds. But, now... amazing the things you can do under pressure.  
  
She peered down to the forest she was now passing, and looked into the horizon - before her eyes a shining globe began to appear in the cloudless night sky.  
  
She felt her nose twitch, and, raising her hands into the air, she disappeared off the Hogwarts grounds, and apparated into her bedroom.  
  
With a thud she fell onto her bed, her broom smashing into floor beside her.  
  
Hermione stood up, slightly dizzy. She knocked down the cup that had earlier held a very important potion.  
  
She gave a small scream as she turned to look in her mirror - her face was covered in grey-white hair - fur - and it looked like her nose was sticking out further then usual -  
  
"Oh, god!" She cried, letting go of the dresser. Her knees buckled beneath her, and she fell to the floor.  
  
Her hands began to shrink - and she noticed her fingers seemed to be being sucked inside her hand - her palms grew coarse and black -  
  
She tried to stand, hoping this wasn't happening, that she was imagining it, or it was some other thing, that was reversible. She cried out, but it sounded more like whine, and when she went to wipe her nose her arm felt hairy, and her nose was oddly in place and felt damp.  
  
Refusing to believe what was happening before her, she managed to scoot her way into the living room, crawling on all fours, though it seemed more natural then it should've, where she sat in the middle of the bare floor, looking to the ceiling and crying.  
  
The tears freely streamed down her face, until the suddenly were ebbed,  
  
And, before she knew it, it ended - the odd twisting and tickling, and she realized she was done... and she lifted her head and cried, but all that could be heard throughout the apartment complex was the howl of a tired wolf.  
  
~*~  
  
Hmmm... this story is seriously turning melodramatic, isn't it? I am going to have to briten it up later... later being the key word.  
  
Thank you to EVERYONE who has reviewed to me! Thank you loads! All 17 of you! I love you!  
  
How long does it take to morph into a werewolf? Well, this was her first time, so lets pretend that the first is long and tiring and such like that. And to those who are going to say something about the werewolf process being 'painful', as described by Lupin in the book, it also says it was painful before the wolfsbane potion, and it was painful cause he was separated from humans and had to bite up himself and go crazy. And all that.  
  
SO what did you think? More? less? This chapter was short, yes, but they will be longer when its more thick plot like stuffs, or whatever... cause I normally write a LOT... like 15-20 pages. So no complaining about length... any other complaints, though? I am open! Ideas? Lay em on me! Compliments? Oh, please oh please!! 


	3. Chapter 3

The Curses That Bind Us  
  
~*~ By: Mae Noelle ~*~  
  
Disclaimer -- This is all mine! Actually, it's not.  
  
A/N -- The plot was created in five minutes by my awesome muse, Ducky, who resides under the same Pen name as I. She is awesome, and a-a-all mine. I don't think I have seen anything out there quite like this, and I checked all throughout the whole three pages of Remus/Herm fics and couldn't find anything. But, if it is a copy, then, sorry - but I didn't do it on purpose.  
  
~*~ Chapter 3 ~*~  
  
Hermione woke up early in the morning, aching all over. She tried to lift her head, but a kink in it stopped her from lifting it any higher. For a moment she looked around her, wondering what the hell she was doing curled up on the floor.  
  
After the realization of what she had been doing the night before hit her, a fresh wave of tears began flowing, and the only thing that ebbed them was the untimely, high-pitched ringing of her phone.  
  
At first she completely ignored it, intent on relishing in her self pity.  
  
There was a beep, and an angry voice filled her cold room.  
  
"Hermione? Hermione - you have to be there! You aren't using the fire, calling, aparating over, flying or anything! What is wrong? Please - talk to me! Did Ron call you at all? Because he and I - oh, wait, never mind, forget I said that - but please, please call! At least give us some sign your still alive -"  
  
Hermione sat speechless on her floor, leaning against her comfortable chair, the one that she used to curl up and read in.  
  
She automatically stood, walked over to the phone and answering machine, and deleted the message, along with two others she had gotten since yesterday.  
  
Harry wouldn't leave her alone... for an entire month she had completely avoided him, stopped returning his calls, closed up her fireplace, and placed a spell that allowed only her to apparate into her apartment. To prevent outside meetings she refused to go outside, except when absolutely necessary.  
  
Still feeling an odd calm, she walked over to her mini kitchen and opened a cupboard. Empty.  
  
Opened the Fridge. Bottled water and potion ingredients.  
  
And today was one of those important days... she sighed. She felt like she couldn't walk, and now that she was hungry she didn't have anything to eat.  
  
She quickly ran and threw on some clothes (she had been wearing a bath robe that she had evidentially put on sometime the night before) and put on her shoes and walked slowly out of her door, and, thinking twice, she walked back in and took the phone off the hook. Then she walked back out the door.  
  
Her apartment was on the third story out of a five story building, near the edge of London. She wanted to be close to the wizard part of London - Diagon Alley, and to her workplace (the Ministry of Magic), without being right in the hustle and bustle of the city.  
  
A small grocery was on the corner of a street a couple blocks away, and it was normally a very easy trip. But this time it felt almost like forever before she got there.  
  
She reached the grocery a few minutes later, and slowly walked between the few aisles to get what food she thought she could manage to get down her throat.  
  
Only after paying for her food did she realized that she didn't have any of the potions ingredients that she needed, and quickly made her way to the back alley behind the grocery. She looked around quickly, before aparating to her apartment, and dropping off her load.  
  
She sat down for a moment, feeling drained, and began to think against aparating to Diagon Alley. At that distance, it would be easier then walking, but as soon as she got there she would undoubtedly pass out...  
  
With a deep sigh, she stood up, determined. She glanced at the phone, still off the hook, and concentrated as hard as she could on an empty alley in Diagon Alley.  
  
She felt a jolt and staggered, thrusting out her hands and meeting a brick wall. She opened her eyes and took in the smell of the old wizard's gathering place, and walked as best as she could out of the darkness, and into the street.  
  
It wasn't as crowded as it usually was when she came, for there were no schools starting, nothing was ending - it was just a normal work day.  
  
In an effort to be less conspicuous, Hermione shopped around for all the items she would need as best she could - the last thing she needed was someone noticing that all her items are used to make the Wolfsbane potion, and that she herself looked like crap.  
  
Hermione sighed, and walked into the potions ingredients store.  
  
After a few shops and about half an hour, Hermione walked out onto the street, thoroughly exhausted.  
  
Her stomach gave another rumble. She looked down, wishing she had taken a banana or something to eat. She looked around for a place to get something quick, but as she did her vision began to blur.  
  
She grasped the course brick wall of the store beside her, and before she knew it she was leaning over, her package of items falling to the ground.  
  
A blurry figure was hurrying in her direction, or so she could make out. The person became clearer as he came closer, and he bent down and said,  
  
"Hermione?"  
  
She looked up, trying to focus her gaze. It didn't help, however - this person was looked just like everyone else on the street - but she could make out a scar...  
  
"Harry?" She said uncertainly, before everything went dark.  
  
~*~  
  
Hermione woke up, the sunlight pouring over her face and into her eyes. She instinctively moved to cover her face, not feeling like waking.  
  
But then she sat up, so fast she felt a little dizzy. But she didn't notice that - all she could tell was that she was feeling considerably better.  
  
Almost completely better, she thought to herself.  
  
Realizing that she had just been sleeping in a foreign bed, she looked around her, trying to figure out where she was.  
  
She sat up further, and turned to look out the window, but couldn't see much of anything.  
  
BAM!  
  
Hermione jumped, not used to the noise, and was about to ask who it was as another blow came to the door.  
  
"Hermione? Are you up? I thought I-"  
  
"Come in," She yelled, angry.  
  
A messy black head of hair popped in as the door creaked open a crack, and Harry looked in uncertainly. "I'm sorry - I thought I heard you, and that you were up,"  
  
"Well even if I was asleep I wouldn't be anymore, after the noise you made." She sighed, eyeing Harry as he looked slightly sad and pathetic standing in the doorway. "Are you going to come in?"  
  
He narrowed his eyes and walked into the room, closing the door behind him. He set down a tray of food and orange juice on the little table beside her bed, and sat down on an available stool.  
  
"Hermione..." He said slowly, and she slipped herself further under the covers. "Is there something you need to tell me?"  
  
She lifted her head higher then it was, as if she were back in school telling off Malfoy. "There is absolutely nothing wrong with me!"  
  
Harry stared. "Yeah, right." He leaned over slightly, looking her steadily in the eye. She turned away. "Hermione, do you know how long it's been?"  
  
"Well, seeing as there is no clock in here, I wouldn't."  
  
"Two days, Hermione." He sat back up straight. "Two days."  
  
She turned away from his hard glare and said loftily, "Guess I was tired, wasn't I?"  
  
"Hermione!" He said sternly. "Just tell me what's wrong!"  
  
She stared straight at the floor wordlessly, suddenly realizing that she hadn't gone to work, or to Hogwarts.  
  
"Hermione-" Harry said, surprised, as she jumped out of bed, despite her body's cries not to move, and made towards her robe. She wondered slightly how she had gotten out of it.  
  
"Thank you, Harry," Hermione began, holding up her robe. "For taking me in here. but can you leave?"  
  
"I will not leave," He said loudly, jumping to his feet and looking furious, "And even if you don't tell me what's wrong, I will find out,"  
  
"I need to change," She said icily, still not looking at him.  
  
"Go on, then." He said, not moving. "It's nothing I've never seen before,"  
  
Hermione glared.  
  
"Or is that it?" Harry said slowly, taking a step towards her. "You don't want me to see you? You don't want me to see you at all, anymore? As you now have someone else to see?" He was looking murderous, his hands balled into fists, one looking as though it would reach for his wand.  
  
"Of course not, Harry," She snapped, rolling her eyes. "I would never do that! Not to you, not to anyone -"  
  
"Well, you did it to Ron," Harry spat.  
  
"Ah, well, that was different." She said angrily, fingering her robe.  
  
"Not by my book!"  
  
"Well, Harry, your book is a bit screwed up, isn't it?" Hermione tore off her bed robes and quickly threw on her black ones, and grabbed the bag full of her things, which had been lying by the mirror. "Good day!"  
  
And she tore out of the room, and bustled down the stairs, into the pub, and out the doors, ignoring the odd looks she was given.  
  
If she had indeed been out two days, she was in danger of loosing her job. and she was supposed to have been at Hogwarts, learning more about becoming an animagus.  
  
As she was feeling better, she made it to an alleyway, and aparated back to her home - and placed her potions ingredients inside either the fridge or her cupboards, grabbed her broom, and aparated just outside Hogwarts grounds.  
  
She began to fall, as she appeared a good few hundred feet in the air, and maneuvered her broom securely beneath her, and zoomed over the forbidden forest and well kept lawns of Hogwarts.  
  
Once inside Hogwarts, the worried face of Minerva appeared around one of the doors.  
  
Hermione, without a word, swept inside the room, broom in hand.  
  
"Miss Granger, if you would please be so kind as to tell me the reason you weren't able to make it.?" Minerva started, and Hermione sighed and leaned on the nearest table.  
  
Hermione looked up hesitantly, and saw Minerva eyeing her broom wearily, and her empty hands. Hermione hadn't brought her books and supplies.  
  
"I must-" Hermione began, after a long pause, "I must. quit. my animagus lessons, until - until - further notice," She finished painfully, gripping her brook tighter.  
  
Minerva stared.  
  
"It's just been, well, busy lately, what with my job, and, erm, my personal life. and now, I've realized that being an animagus. just. won't. work."  
  
Minerva still stood quietly, her mouth pursed, and said quietly, "The full moon was two days ago."  
  
Hermione's grip on her broom tightened, and she realized that Minerva must've guessed. was she that obvious?  
  
After another minute of uncomfortable silence, Minerva whipped out her wand, and conjured a folded piece of parchment out of the air.  
  
"Here," Minerva said softly, handing the parchment piece over to Hermione. "I hope to see you again."  
  
Hermione didn't waste any time loitering around the castle.  
  
In barely a minute she was outside the castle, Minerva looking sadly out the window, waving - though she knew Hermione wouldn't turn and see.  
  
Hermione felt better the moment she hit the air, and after reaching a good distance from the castle, she plunged her hand into her pocket.  
  
Carefully she held the folded parchment in front of her, and one-handedly opened it.  
  
Scrawled upon it, in deep green ink, was an address.  
  
She didn't need three guesses to figure out to whom the address belonged.  
  
The moment she reached the edge of Hogwarts grounds, she dissapparated, and appeared behind a small grocery store, situated on the outskirts of London.  
  
She quickly hid her broom, placed charm on it so that no one could see it but herself, and marched out from behind the grocery.  
  
Her nose came out from behind the slip of parchment only to be sure she hadn't passed the written address yet, and to make sure she didn't cross a street and get run over.  
  
The streets were narrow and the pavement was crumbling, and as she walked steadily away from London the houses became grimier and more run down.  
  
Her hands fingered her wand in her pocket as she passed an especially alarming house, and she moved to the other side of the street, and passed a pale blue house.  
  
She did a double take.  
  
Her eyes flew back to her parchment, and she turned to look at the house again - particularly it's address.  
  
This was the house.  
  
She sighed, and slowly made her way across the slightly unkempt front lawn, to the door, which was a dirty white.  
  
For a very nervous minute she held her hand in a knocking position, an inch away from the door, contemplating what exactly it was that she was doing.  
  
But before she could bring herself to knock, or to run away, the door opened swiftly.  
  
And there in her wake stood a tall, once-sandy-haired-man (he was graying furiously), decked out in what looked like faded slacks and a shirt, whose kind features wore a very surprised expression.  
  
"Hermione?" He said slowly, opening the door wider.  
  
"P-Professor?"  
  
~*~  
  
Surprise? . Don't tell me you didn't expect that! lol.  
  
I really don't like Mary GrandPre's art. *grr* . Am I the only one, here?  
  
Ah! Sirius! Nooo! My plot line has been ruined! Thanks a lot, JKR... *growl* Ah, but, somehow my plot will go on. I have fixed it completely now... good thing I hadn't written loads more, or else... yah. Actually, this plot line isn't as badly affected as 'Messing With History's plot line was.  
  
Thank you to everyone who has reviewed so far! I think this isn't going to be a long long story, like a couple of my others, but I know where it's going. tell me how you want it to be.  
  
This chapter was the beginning of one of many long-winded ones to come. ^_^ I hope you liked. Told you the chapters would be getting longer. Any complaints? Ideas? Comments? 


End file.
